Todays workplace incorporates many kinds of electrical devices, most notably computers (particularly personal computers) and communications facilities such a voice and data transmission lines. A typical workstation will have a computer which may be connected to modem, to a local area network (LAN), to a dedicated or shared printer and/or remote storage devices, intercom, video interface and many other widely available electrical devices that increase productivity and communications capacity in the workplace.
Most such devices require a power supply, and many require communications cables to interface with other local and remote devices. In a permanent workstation the power supply and interface cabling can be installed and bundled, but this tends to be unsightly and can interfere with the efficient use of space in a small workstation. In temporary workstations such as boardroom tables, research cubicles and the like where portable devices (eg. laptop computers, video monitors etc.) are used, it can be cumbersome and time consuming to connect and organize power supply and interface cables for a short period of use.
Permanent floor-mounted receptacles or "floor monuments" are available for such purposes, but they often cannot be conveniently located in anticipation of where such facilities may be required, and they reduce the ability to rearrange office furniture. Receptacles affixed to or recessed into the work surface itself have recently become more popular, but they tend to be difficult to use because the cabling is connected to the receptacle at an angle perpendicular to the work surface and thus protrudes upwardly into the work space. Where a receptacle is recessed accessibility is significantly diminished because the connection ports are often not easily visible and a user must approach the receptacle from directly above it. In a large work surface such as a boardroom table can require that the user lean uncomfortably over the table while attempting to align the cable plug with the compatible port for connection, and the vertical motion required to connect or disconnect a cable is awkward and unnatural making connecting and disconnecting electrical cables physically difficult.